FCP newbie needs color correction help at DVinfo.net

Danny Jones · November 4th, 2005, 07:57 PM

I am trying to change the color of an item such as a lamp in my video. Is it possible to change the color of the lamp only? I'm thinking maybe I have to mask the objects that does not need color change? Any help would be great.

Boyd Ostroff · November 4th, 2005, 10:28 PM

See the tutorial in the FCP manual; there's an example of how to do this exact kind of thing. If you don't have hardcopy then you can access the manual in PDF form via the Help menu inside of FCP. Actually the PDF version is a little better since it has color screenshots whereas the printed manual is black and white. Read the whole section on color correction, it will get you off to a good start!

Glenn Chan · November 4th, 2005, 10:48 PM

There are many instructions out there on how to do this with Final Cut PRO, which has the 3-way CC with secondary color correction that lets you mask the specific color. Unfortunately FCE doesn't have that filter.

If the lamp is of a solid color, maybe the chroma key in FCE can do something?
You can also do a garbage mask around the lamp, and color correct the masked area. Works only on static shot.

Mike Medavoy · November 5th, 2005, 12:40 AM

Since this topic is about color correction, let me throw a question in as well.

I want to color correct a short film shot on 35mm, ending up on digibeta. I want to desaturate specific parts of the movie. I'm gonna desaturate those shots 30%.

At the same tome, since some of the shots don't match, obviously I want to match them as well.

The question is, what should I do first? Try to match them before I apply the desaturation filter? Or apply the desaturation filter, and since it eliminates a lot of the color information anyway, only THEN try to match them.

Any suggestions?

Glenn Chan · November 5th, 2005, 12:59 AM

Mike: It's better to start your own thread so your question will get the attention it deserves. :)

Anyways, to answer your question:

The way I would do things:

Apply a 3-way CC filter first to make all the shots match, then after it apply another 3-way CC filter to desaturate. The normal color helps to match shots up (I find). i.e. boost color saturation quickly by clicking on the slider. This can help you spot white balance errors if you aren't sure about your monitoring. And then toggle it back to normal saturation.

For the desaturation filter, I would use the secondary controls so it affects everything except for flesh tone. The flesh tone will look more natural that way. It also has another benefit in that it'll work better for television/broadcast audiences.

Some consumer televisions have boosted color saturation, so they would actually make your image look like it has normal saturation. If you leave the flesh tones alone then it will kind of retain the desaturated look, since the background looks desaturated in relationship to your subjects. It'll look wrong in a subtle way, which may be the effect you're going after.

If you do lower saturation in the flesh tones, then it'll look like the picture has normal saturation and there will be no effect. This may be ok since it's hard to hit both audiences (people with normal TVs, and people with super-saturated TVs) at once. Or it may not be ok.

In FCP's 3-way CC, secondary = limit effect.

I hope that helps.

A.J. Briones · November 6th, 2005, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Medavoy

Since this topic is about color correction, let me throw a question in as well.

I want to color correct a short film shot on 35mm, ending up on digibeta. I want to desaturate specific parts of the movie. I'm gonna desaturate those shots 30%.

At the same tome, since some of the shots don't match, obviously I want to match them as well.

The question is, what should I do first? Try to match them before I apply the desaturation filter? Or apply the desaturation filter, and since it eliminates a lot of the color information anyway, only THEN try to match them.

Any suggestions?

i suggest you do as glenn said with a first pass to color match all of your shots. afterwards, work on one clip to get it as perfect as you'd like, then use "paste attributes" on the rest of the sequence to finish up.

Mike Medavoy · November 6th, 2005, 11:42 AM

Thank you very much,

I will follow the road you mentioned.

I was actually planning to use Color Finesse for color correction, I know it much better than the FCP CC capabilities. And for me, it gives a bit more control.

But advice taken, will match the shots first, then work on the desaturation. I will try to implement the advice about the flesh tones as well and see if i like the result, thanks.

Danny Jones · November 6th, 2005, 02:27 PM

Boyd/Glenn, thx..since there are several tutorials which one is best?

Glenn Chan · November 6th, 2005, 02:33 PM

Danny: I do not believe there is a tutorial on how to do that particular effect in FCE.

The manual should have information on how to use the garbage matte though. If 4 or 8 points isn't enough, there are filters out there that will give more points. I think one of them is free.
http://homepage.mac.com/tomhenderson/beziermatte/
http://www.digitalzoo.com.au/lunchti...ed_02_free.htm

The steps are something like:
1- Duplicate a clip onto itself. Hold shift, command, option, apple key and click drag a video clip onto another layer. You only need two of the modifiers, I forget which ones were unnecessary (option is necessary IIRC).
2- Apply the color corrector and garbage matter filters.
3- Mask out the object.
4- Drag the color wheel in the CC filter.

November 4th, 2005, 07:57 PM	#1
Danny Jones Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 58	FCP newbie needs color correction help I am trying to change the color of an item such as a lamp in my video. Is it possible to change the color of the lamp only? I'm thinking maybe I have to mask the objects that does not need color change? Any help would be great.

November 4th, 2005, 10:48 PM	#3
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	There are many instructions out there on how to do this with Final Cut PRO, which has the 3-way CC with secondary color correction that lets you mask the specific color. Unfortunately FCE doesn't have that filter. If the lamp is of a solid color, maybe the chroma key in FCE can do something? You can also do a garbage mask around the lamp, and color correct the masked area. Works only on static shot. Last edited by Glenn Chan; November 5th, 2005 at 12:42 AM.

November 4th, 2005, 10:28 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	See the tutorial in the FCP manual; there's an example of how to do this exact kind of thing. If you don't have hardcopy then you can access the manual in PDF form via the Help menu inside of FCP. Actually the PDF version is a little better since it has color screenshots whereas the printed manual is black and white. Read the whole section on color correction, it will get you off to a good start!

November 5th, 2005, 12:40 AM	#4
Mike Medavoy Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 63	Since this topic is about color correction, let me throw a question in as well. I want to color correct a short film shot on 35mm, ending up on digibeta. I want to desaturate specific parts of the movie. I'm gonna desaturate those shots 30%. At the same tome, since some of the shots don't match, obviously I want to match them as well. The question is, what should I do first? Try to match them before I apply the desaturation filter? Or apply the desaturation filter, and since it eliminates a lot of the color information anyway, only THEN try to match them. Any suggestions?

November 5th, 2005, 12:59 AM	#5
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Mike: It's better to start your own thread so your question will get the attention it deserves. :) Anyways, to answer your question: The way I would do things: Apply a 3-way CC filter first to make all the shots match, then after it apply another 3-way CC filter to desaturate. The normal color helps to match shots up (I find). i.e. boost color saturation quickly by clicking on the slider. This can help you spot white balance errors if you aren't sure about your monitoring. And then toggle it back to normal saturation. For the desaturation filter, I would use the secondary controls so it affects everything except for flesh tone. The flesh tone will look more natural that way. It also has another benefit in that it'll work better for television/broadcast audiences. Some consumer televisions have boosted color saturation, so they would actually make your image look like it has normal saturation. If you leave the flesh tones alone then it will kind of retain the desaturated look, since the background looks desaturated in relationship to your subjects. It'll look wrong in a subtle way, which may be the effect you're going after. If you do lower saturation in the flesh tones, then it'll look like the picture has normal saturation and there will be no effect. This may be ok since it's hard to hit both audiences (people with normal TVs, and people with super-saturated TVs) at once. Or it may not be ok. In FCP's 3-way CC, secondary = limit effect. I hope that helps.

November 6th, 2005, 11:42 AM	#7
Mike Medavoy Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 63	Thank you very much, I will follow the road you mentioned. I was actually planning to use Color Finesse for color correction, I know it much better than the FCP CC capabilities. And for me, it gives a bit more control. But advice taken, will match the shots first, then work on the desaturation. I will try to implement the advice about the flesh tones as well and see if i like the result, thanks.

November 6th, 2005, 02:27 PM	#8
Danny Jones Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 58	Boyd/Glenn, thx..since there are several tutorials which one is best?

November 6th, 2005, 02:33 PM	#9
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Danny: I do not believe there is a tutorial on how to do that particular effect in FCE. The manual should have information on how to use the garbage matte though. If 4 or 8 points isn't enough, there are filters out there that will give more points. I think one of them is free. http://homepage.mac.com/tomhenderson/beziermatte/ http://www.digitalzoo.com.au/lunchti...ed_02_free.htm The steps are something like: 1- Duplicate a clip onto itself. Hold shift, command, option, apple key and click drag a video clip onto another layer. You only need two of the modifiers, I forget which ones were unnecessary (option is necessary IIRC). 2- Apply the color corrector and garbage matter filters. 3- Mask out the object. 4- Drag the color wheel in the CC filter.